But the council has also been touting for early stage interest in three of its own major projects: the inner city rail link that central government has rejected funding for; a second harbour crossing; and for the new Innovation precinct in the Wynard Quarter on Auckland’s waterfront. …

China, as our second largest trading partner, was one of the few countries with significant capital to invest offshore and was particularly interested in tourism investment, Brown said.

The first project off the block will be the $2.4b inner city rail loop and Brown favours a PPP (public/private/partnership) deal over borrowing, issuing infrastructure bonds, or raising rates and taxes in order to fund it.

An excellent idea. I look froward to the local Labour MPs supporting an innovative PPP such as this.

God, those Labourites sure do love them some China, don’t they? I guess they probably sigh wistfully when they see jackbooted thugs goose stepping across Tianemen square. They’d love to do the same here.

Adolf Fiinkensein

bhudson

I’m sure Russel and Julie-Anne Genter will be rushing to demand that Len and the potential Chinese investors demonstrate what benefits their investment would bring to the rail loop and Akl ratepayers that wouldn’t be realized through NZ investors. [Aside from access to the money in the first place of course.]

david

Whoever funds it, if it gets built it will still be a dog and Auckland’s congestion will still be a problem. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that building a subway though a volcanic area is dumb.

Just remember, every cent the redmayor borrows is underwritten by ALL New Zealanders, since the law does not allow Local Government to declare bankruptcy….or to be put into liquidation. So, even in PPP it (borrowing) counts as national debt.

So far as the rest of NZ (apart, of course, from the idiot red melons) is concerned, they can take their rail loop and stick it up their collective jumpers.

Cunningham

I cannot wait to see what the Greens, Labour think about this. They have stirred up so much xenophobia over the farm sale. What do they think about China funding the rail they so desperatley want? Also the fact it is Len Brown proposing it makes this even more interesting. Please MSM push this story for all its worth.

RRM

hmmokrightitis

Highly unlikely RRM, my Mum is in care, suffering from the ravages of dealing with Parkinsons for the last 20 years, and unable to communicate for large periods of time, a shell of the strong woman she used to be.

PaulL

Funny.
1. Chinese owning our railroads? They might pull them up and take them back to China. Or employ lots of Chinese people without obeying our employment laws. Or break all our environmental rules – they’ll probably just bulldoze people’s houses without going through the RMA – like they do in China.

2. PPP for getting a railroad built? But the local council will just use the private partnership as an excuse for putting up prices, thereby pricing ordinary NZers out of using it and returning excessive returns to the Chinese. Who, in turn, clearly wouldn’t let us build a railroad over there.

All the time ignoring the actual problem – nobody will build this railroad without very large govt subsidy. It cannot make a profit. So who is going to pay? I’d invest if I was Chinese, so long as the gummint underwrites my returns. Who wouldn’t? My guess, the Chinese won’t invest because they’re astute enough to require guaranteed returns. Instead it’ll get bundled into some equity deal and sold to “Mums and Dads” who aren’t smart enough to work out the deal is a dog. Bit like the Qld motorway.